Three Americans Make Olympic Steeplechase Final After Rough-and-Tumble First Round

Manners tend to go out the window in the steeplechase, which is an Olympic event that takes runners over 28 barriers and seven water pits in 3,000 meters. What could go wrong? Plenty. But fortunately for Emma Coburn, Colleen Quigley, and Courtney Frerichs, all went according to plan and Team USA will have three athletes in the final on Monday.

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The three first-round heats of the steeplechase were extremely physical affairs, with a lot of pushing and jostling in the packs. Aisha Praught, a member of the Oregon Track Club Elite who represents Jamaica, went tumbling down in the third heat when Etenesh Diro, from Ethiopia, stopped in front of her on the track to put a shoe back on. Neither woman made it to the final on time or place, but officials ruled that they would both advance anyway, along with Sara Louise Treacy of Ireland, also implicated in the tangle up.

That puts 18 women in the final—a crowded track.

“You traditionally don’t see 17 to 18 women in a steeplechase,” Praught said after the race but before her appeal of the results was approved. “A lot of people are really nervous and a lot of people are really excited. And a lot of people want their chance. Having a field this big was dangerous.”

Coburn, who placed second in heat two in 9:18.12 after leading for much of the race, said she went to the front because she felt like too many women were jostling for position. She agreed that such tactics are common in an international race with so much at stake.

“I just decided I don’t want to be around all of these moves, so that’s why I decided to go to the lead,” Coburn said. “If people are just chilling in their spot, I don’t mind being in a pack, but today was a little too much movement for me.”

Quigley, a first-time Olympian, ran 9:21.82 in the first heat and qualified for the final based on her time. She considers herself fortunate to have run in similar competitive fields last summer so she knows how to handle the bumps and flying elbows.

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“I felt like I was a little kamikaze from the gun. There were a few girls who I felt like shouldn’t be up there doing what they were doing. I thought, ‘Well, this is not going to go well for somebody,’” she said, later adding, “There’s a lot more pushing and shoving, there’s a lot more aggressiveness, and a lot more people who want to get out and lead. I feel like in the U.S. and NCAA, there’s battling for not leading.”

Frerichs, also a first-time Olympian, came in third in the final heat in 9:27.02, automatically moving on to the final. She led a portion of the race because she knew that if the pace slowed, more competitors would be in contention. She can already feel a difference in her fitness from when she competed at the U.S. trials in July.

“There was a lot of tripping going on so I was trying to keep my cool,” she said, adding, “I think I have something left. With 800 to go, it was a whole different feeling than what I had at the trials. At the trials I was hurting bad.”

Coburn, who is the American record holder in the event, said the final race promises to be a huge challenge, based on the caliber of the field.

“I felt like I had another gear that last kilometer if I needed it,” she said. “I’m feeling strong going into the final, but it’s definitely going to take every ounce of me to finish high.”

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